The Scout: Balustrade & Bitters, L.A.'s new shelter e-zine

No, this is not a banner ad. It's the illustration for a story on a Santa Monica flea market vendor found on the new design website Balustrade & Bitters. "We want to provide the same visual experience as a magazine would, with  original content, in-depth stories, interviews and rich images," says vintage furniture dealer Coleen Rider, who co-founded the site with design blogger Megan Arquette and custom drapery designer Holli Thomas. The wonderfully L.A.-centric site launched last week with a 1,125-word piece on the restoration of the former 1876 Cathedral of St.Vibiana and Rider's 4,000-plus word Q & A with Hollywood interior designer Peter Dunham, which contains this charming (and completely unsolicited) exchange:

CR:  When thinking about your work, how would you describe it?

PD: David Keeps of the L.A. Times called it Merchant Ivory Moderne. That kind of summed it up.

Needless to say, I've bookmarked the site.

-- David A. Keeps

Photo credit: Balustrade & Bitters